VO: It's the nation's favorite antiques experts...

Perfect.

Sold!

VO: ..behind the wheel of a classic car.

Lovely day for it.

VO: And a goal - to scour Britain for antiques.

Every home should have one of these.

VO: The aim?

To make the biggest profit at auction.

But it's no mean feat.

Yes!

VO: There'll be worthy winners... 950.

I'm going to make £1,000!

VO: ..and valiant losers.

Nooooooo!

VO: Will it be the high road to glory?

Make me a big profit.

VO: Or the slow road to disaster?

Are we stuck?

IRITA & RAJ: Yay!

VO: This is the Antiques Road Trip.

Yeehaw!

VO: Hello and welcome.

Another day... VO: In paradise!

Actually, we're in Northamptonshire.

Is it the county of the shoes?

It is.

It is the county of the shoes, yeah.

VO: Yeah.

Thanks for that.

It's leg two of this trip with antiques guru Raj Bisram and profit detective Irita Marriott.

I can't believe this.

This is a first - eating breakfast in the vehicle?!

You rushed me out.

So a girl got to do what a girl's got to do.

VO: Petit dejeuner is served in the zippy 1978 MG Midget.

That's not totally safe.

Woohoo!

(THEY LAUGH) RAJ: Nice.

IRITA: Good, innit?

Mwah!

Belissimo, baby!

VO: Oh, she's enjoying that.

Last time was a riot.

Irita bought a quirky automaton... IRITA: It's just unusual, and unusual sells.

VO: ..that stole the show at the auction.

At £180, we sell online.

Hey, I need to do my dance.

VO: While Raj was taken by a 19th-century mannequin.

What I like about it is, it's a little bit different.

VO: But his star buy wasn't enough to take the lead.

At 80, hammer.

Last call.

IRITA: That's a fantastic result.

Well done.

RAJ: I can't complain at that.

RAJ: I was told that you were into porcelain.

Yes.

And I'm thinking, "Oh, I'm safe, porcelain, "it's not making the money it used to make."

And then you go and buy an automaton.

VO: Raj started with 200 smackers and, from his very first sale, he's got a small return of £236.30.

Irita began with the same sum, of course, but is flying high with a splendid £352.60.

RAJ: Lovely, lovely.

IRITA: Hello!

RAJ: Hello!

RAJ: They were big sheep, weren't they?

You don't know your animals from your elbow!

VO: Well, something like that.

Hee-hee!

Their tour began in Suffolk with a further snuffle around East Anglia.

But today, we are South Midlands-bound.

The epic trip concludes in Cornwall.

Oh, if it stays like this, we will have fun.

That's what you call a proper stallion.

Sorry, are you pointing at me?

No!

The horses!

I thought you were pointing at me!

VO: He's here all week, folks.

The giggling Gerties are in Northamptonshire today.

They'll be shopping all the way to Wendover.

First stop, Castle Ashby.

Lovely.

This rural idyll is not only home to little lambikins and lovely rolling fields, but there's also antiques to be found, too, like here in the Eggshell Gallery.

RAJ: I'm coming.

VO: Let's take a peek, shall we?

Every space is filled.

And look, it's an horologist's paradise.

IRITA: Can I have some help with Raj, please?

He's completely out of order.

He's gone crazy.

I know.

Please, come quick.

VO: Look, I've told you to stop ringing me, Irita.

Raj needs to track down something to rake in the pounds and pence.

(CLOCK CHIMES) He's certainly not going to lose track of time in here.

Tick-tock.

RAJ: Oh, wow.

(RAJ CHUCKLES) This is a kaleidoscope.

I can remember my parents buying me my first kaleidoscope.

I was mesmerized by them and this one actually is a really early one.

It's, like I say, 1900, and you can't turn the end.

What you do is, you look down here and then you actually have to turn the whole thing.

And as you turn it, all the shapes change.

VO: Scots scientist Sir David Brewster invented the kaleidoscope in 1816.

Dubbed the father of modern experimental optics, the ingenious device came about when he was studying the properties of light.

This one is £12.

This is a nice nostalgic item, as well as being an item that toy collectors would collect.

Yeah, I think this is quite a nice item.

Very unusual.

VO: One possible for Raj, then.

Yoo-hoo!

Irita!

And this is an interior decorator's piece.

They always talk about antiques being green and that part of our job is recycling, and this is a prime example of that.

It is just fantastic how somebody has taken a simple caddy with some golf clubs and made it into a functional piece of furniture.

Isn't that cool?

VO: A golf club lamp?

Huh!

Whatever next?

Oh, what's that, Raj?

RAJ: This is a bookmark page turner.

This one is made out of poker work, which is a form of decoration that they used in the 19th century to decorate and to show their skills.

And this was done with a red-hot poker.

And here you can see the pattern.

I mean, look at that.

If you look closely, you can see there's an urn there with flowers.

And poker work has become pretty collectable.

VO: I like it.

How much?

RAJ: It's only got £8 on the ticket.

I mean, I think this is lovely.

VO: And well within budget.

Isn't this interesting?

It's a powder flask.

You would have kept your powder in there, for your guns.

VO: Exactly.

And that powder flask kept your powder dry and it was an essential piece of kit until the cartridge was invented in the 19th century.

Now, this one is replica, but it's jolly beautifully made.

It's just so much history contained in this one little piece.

It's £55.

If this was the real deal, we would be talking thousands.

Guess what?

(WHISPERS) I love it.

VO: I can tell.

I'm going a bit off-piste here.

Unusual.

Everybody likes a bit of unusual.

And if you would be opening a bed and breakfast, I mean, what better way to advertise it - ta-da!

VO: Yeah.

Not so sure.

IRITA: And quirky sells.

Quirky is always good in auction cuz where are you ever going to find another one?

VO: There...may be a reason for that.

It's not amazingly made.

I mean, it's only a bit of wood that has been hand-painted, but it's advertising for £30.

Can you buy much advertising these days?

Are you looking at that?

Yeah.

Why?

I have to be honest, it's really different, isn't it?

It is.

Because if you decide not to buy it, I'd like to have a closer look at it.

IRITA: OK. RAJ: Is that OK?

IRITA: Deal.

RAJ: Deal.

VO: They're both keen!

Can Irita get Wee Willie Winkie for a good price?

Very nice.

I like that pink paper.

(THEY LAUGH) DEALER: Thank you, Irita.

Thank you.

Nice to see you.

There's too many things to choose from.

I've narrowed it down to two, though.

You know the bed and breakfast sign?

Where did that come from?

So that came from a collector at Weedon, which is a local village.

He collects all sorts of quirky signs, and that was one of them.

And then, in the other room, you have a powder flask for 55.

DEALER: Yes, I do.

IRITA: So that's 85.

DEALER: Yeah.

Now, what could you do on those two, please?

I'll do the two for 50.

That's a no-brainer!

Oh, my goodness, I'm getting my money out.

You've got me very excited.

VO: That's not difficult.

£20 for the very large B&B sign and £30 for the 20th-century wooden powder flask.

Thank you, John.

And that tidy buy gives Irita just over £300 remaining.

IRITA: This can be for Raj when he decides to give up antiques.

Raj's new companion.

See you later, mate.

VO: Cheeky!

And while Irita goes off on her travels, what's Raj up to?

Here I've got a really nice little silver gilt and enameled trinket box.

It's from 1926.

Art deco, typically art deco, it's hallmarked Birmingham and it's a trinket box.

You know, it would have been on a lady's dressing table.

It's nicely decorated with these, again, unusual colors, this orange and black lines down here, and they are actually all in pretty good condition.

It has got a little bit of damage round the side here.

VO: Nice find, Raj.

Art deco is popular and this little fellow is easy to post.

It'll appeal to online bidders the world over, which could explain the price - it's 125.

I've found a couple of things, OK?

DEALER: OK.

I really like the kaleidoscope.

You've got £12 on that.

And this poker work page turner as well - really like that.

£8 on that.

I think they're both reasonably priced.

I'm not going to haggle at all, so I believe that I owe you £20.

You happy with that?

DEALER: Yeah, I'm very happy, Raj, thank you.

RAJ: Fantastic.

VO: And the big-budget art deco trinket box?

What would be your very best on that?

I will do that for £70 for you, Raj.

I'm not going to quibble whatsoever.

At £70, we have a deal.

VO: Raj has spent a total of £90 in one fell swoop, but he still has £146 left.

RAJ: Thank you very much indeed, John.

It's been a real pleasure.

Thanks again.

DEALER: Bye for now.

Bye bye.

VO: Crumbs.

(CHUCKLES) Raj looks as though he's off to advertise his new B&B.

Meanwhile, Irita is pressing the pause button on her shopping spree.

She's taking a detour to Olney in Buckinghamshire, the birthplace of an ageless Christian hymn written over two centuries ago.

Irita has come to hear the incredible story of the man who penned it, John Newton, and just why the gift of grace made this soaring, spiritual and amazing work known the world over.

Get it?

Amanda Molcher has all the answers.

AMANDA: John Newton came to Olney at the age of 39, so he'd had a lot of life before he came here.

VO: The young Newton was a licentious libertine, press-ganged into the British Navy in 1744, a restless, angry young sailor who hated the rigors of discipline.

But it was when John was at sea off the African coast, that his life took a new direction.

In the middle of the Atlantic, they got caught in a horrendous storm.

The sails were ripped.

Water was coming in.

They had to pump the water out of the ship to stay afloat.

They thought they were going to die.

It was so rough that John had to be tied to the wheel to keep steering the ship.

John found himself, at that point, actually calling out to God for the first time.

VO: John would later proclaim March 21st, 1748 is his great turning day.

His survival led to a spiritual awakening and a new-found faith.

AMANDA: At that time, the country was encouraging people to take part in the slave trade because it was bringing money into the country.

And so, he actually sailed back to the west coast of Africa and, there, participated in enslaving people on the ships and taking them out to the Caribbean and out to America.

VO: John was a slave-ship captain on the high seas for four years until his spiritual voyage took over and he became an evangelical preacher at Olney Parish Church at the age of 39.

AMANDA: Just here is where we think John Newton's pulpit was.

So, it was from here he gave those famous sermons.

I say famous because people started to come from counties around, many distant, to hear him speak.

VO: John's sermons would usually be accompanied by a hymn.

Nearly 30 years from the day of his calling, John reached for heartfelt words to stir the soul.

Suddenly, it came.

"Amazing grace!

How sweet the sound, "That saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost, "but now am found, Was blind but now I see."

Very powerful words.

VO: Amazing Grace would become an autobiographical chronicle of John's journey to redemption and salvation through the gift of grace.

How long was he in Olney?

He was in Olney for about 15 years.

From here, he became the rector of the church St Mary Woolnoth, in London, at the heart of the finance district.

And from there, he really was able to tap into the emerging abolition campaign.

VO: In the mid-18th century, the national mood began to condemn the slave trade.

John's friend, the MP William Wilberforce, was a leader in steering the Abolition Act through Parliament.

And what John did was support William and mentor William through that very difficult time.

But one of the most influential things that John did to support the abolition campaign was to write a book called Thoughts Upon The African Slave Trade.

He didn't pull his punches.

Using his authentic experiences within the slave trade, he was telling people exactly what it was.

VO: Eventually, the Act for Abolition of Slave Trade was passed in 1807.

Nine months later, John Newton would die, aged 82.

"Through many dangers, toils and snares, "I have already come.

'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, "And grace will lead me home."

I'm not surprised his hymns touched as many people as they did because he really spoke from his heart.

VO: From Aretha Franklin to the Royal Scots Dragoons, this hymn of profound spiritual elation is performed, it's estimated, 10 million times per year.

Penned by a former slave-ship captain who spoke up about this heinous crime to humanity, it's fitting Amazing Grace is now an anthem for social injustice.

"I hope it will always be a subject "of humiliating reflection to me that I was once "an active instrument in a business "at which my heart now shudders."

VO: Back to Raj and his new best buddy, Wee Willie Winkie.

Well, some good company at last.

And where are we off to?

VO: I don't think he speaks, Raj.

They're headed towards Haversham in Milton Keynes.

Gdad's Collectables is the next place for Raj to spring into shopping action.

This two-floor warehouse is jam-packed with lots of dealers selling their wares.

And our man has a little under £150 left in his wallet.

RAJ: There's lots of little items in here.

A lot of it is vintage rather than antique.

So, you've just got to spend time looking and looking and looking.

VO: Vintage items are generally mid-20th century.

They're having a real surge in popularity.

Oh, look, 1950s dress buttons.

RAJ: I think they look quite smart.

But of course, the way the world is now, we don't actually wear dress buttons on everything.

So, I think these are more for a collector, but there are a lot of collectors out there.

I know.

VO: And just as usable as the day they were made, too.

Great!

Ticket price, £40.

RAJ: Well, whenever I come across small things like this, I've got a special antique tool that I use to actually help me in the process.

And you might have seen these before.

They're called glasses.

VO: I didn't see that gag coming.

RAJ: I mean, the first one is a toucan, which is really famous.

Next to it is a pint.

Then, we've got a turtle, and on its back is a pint.

Comedy, collectable - right up my street.

VO: Yeah.

The man holding the fort today is Mark.

RAJ: Hello, Mark.

MARK: Hello.

RAJ: There's something that's caught my eye upstairs.

MARK: OK. RAJ: And it's a box set of Guinness buttons.

MARK: Oh, yes.

RAJ: Six commemorative buttons.

MARK: I know them, yes.

RAJ: You know them?

RAJ: Well, I want to know what the very best is on them?

We have a policy of 10%.

Throw that out the window.

MARK: That's not good enough, I know.

(THEY LAUGH) Is there any chance that maybe you could speak to the dealer and see what the best...?

MARK: I can do, yes.

I'm more than willing to.

RAJ: Fantastic.

MARK: I shall give him a ring now.

RAJ: Thank you.

VO: Let's get the dealer on the blower, eh?

MARK: Oh, hello, Ian, it's Mark.

You've got an item, a set of Guinness buttons at £40.

Could I do anything better?

£30, you're saying.

That's absolutely your bottom.

RAJ: That's not bad.

That's very generous.

But I wondered, is there any way that he could do 25?

MARK: 28.

RAJ: 28?

RAJ: Hey, I'm not going to quibble over £3.

At £28, we have a deal.

MARK: Excellent.

Thank you.

VO: I really like them.

Raj now has a slither off £120 left.

VO: Wee Willie Winkie has been dispatched elsewhere to make room for Irita.

IRITA: Have you got any fears?

RAJ: I'm a bit scared of heights.

Me, too!

Really?

We ain't going to be going in a plane together, are we?

I don't think so.

VO: Definitely not.

(CHUCKLES) Nighty night.

VO: We're up with the lark and ready for the day.

If you did modeling, what would be your end of catwalk look?

You know, like, everybody has that one smothering look.

RAJ: Er... IRITA: Ooh, good!

Oh!

VO: I'd say smoldering, not smothering.

(SHE LAUGHS) Raj, don't look at me like that.

(THEY LAUGH) VO: Yesterday, Irita spent conservatively but bought two very different items - a very large B&B sign and an early-20th-century powder flask.

Guess what?

I love it.

VO: Leaving her with just over £300 for today.

Well, Raj went for it.

Boy, was he frivolous, on a kaleidoscope, a 19th-century page turner, an art deco trinket box and this very attractive collection of 1950s dress buttons.

Comedy, collectable - right up my street.

VO: But he still has just under £120 to play with.

What did you pay for those?

What would you expect me to have paid for these?

£20, £30.

Ah, you see.

I'm really cheap.

I paid a pound.

IRITA: A pound!

RAJ: Yeah.

I may be telling you a little fib just to wind you up, OK?

IRITA: Oh, yeah.

RAJ: OK?

IRITA: As if I'm not used to that with you.

VO: Gosh, aren't they fizzy, these two?

Lovely.

Their travels today will be mostly around the home counties, and with Raj dispatched, so to speak, Irita's dotted off to Dunstable.

Once renowned for its straw-hat-making industry - another good bow to me - it's now home to this emporium, Mannucci's Antiques.

IRITA: Come on, off we go.

VO: Oh, it's lovely in here.

Antiques, vintage, bit of retro.

Our girl's spoilt for choice.

IRITA: Is Raj hiding in here?

VO: Ha-ha!

I don't think he'd fit.

DOORS CREAK Ooh, meow!

Now, how about finding something to buy?

Oh, just look at these colors!

The greens and blues and the browns.

The classic combination of a majolica piece.

Majolica was most popular in late 1800s, and the most famous majolica makers in England were Minton.

Minton still, to this day, has majolica that makes very, very good money in auction.

This is definitely a continental piece.

Majolica was all about the natural environment, the colors of the environment.

This is like the perfect example of that.

You have the natural kind of branch handle, and then you've got a fish that is jumping out of the water.

One thing about majolica, it chips very, very easily.

Always make sure you check before you buy.

Let's have a gander.

I mean, look at the size of this.

VO: Yeah, it's a big 'un, and priced at £38.

IRITA: If you tap that... (HOLLOW TAPPING) ..can you hear how kind of dead and empty it sounds?

And that is because of the giant crack.

Oh, what a shame.

Well, this will all be down to the price.

VO: Watch out, Richard, you've got an incoming Irita.

IRITA: Richard!

RICHARD: Yes.

I'm coming to fish for a good deal.

IRITA: Your majolica jug.

RICHARD: Right.

IRITA: The one with the broken lid.

RICHARD: Yes.

IRITA: £38.

RICHARD: Er...what can I do?

£30.

IRITA: £30 it is.

RICHARD: OK. See?

I told you I won't be any trouble.

RICHARD: There we go.

IRITA: Thank you.

RICHARD: Thank you very much.

Thank you.

IRITA: It's been a pleasure.

RICHARD: You're welcome.

RICHARD: Thank you.

IRITA: Bye.

VO: Wicked, Richard.

That bargain buy means Irita still has loads of dosh, just over 270.

Completely unwrapped that.

OK, just don't put the brakes on.

(HORN HONKS) VO: While Irita clocks up the goodies, our other adventurer has made his way to the city of St Albans.

Home to St Albans Clock Tower, the only surviving medieval town belfry in England.

And bang on time is curator Sarah Keeling.

SARAH: If you imagine, today, we have our watches, our mobile phones, but back in the early 1400s, they didn't have any of that.

And the only way to tell would be to listen to the bells.

And that would tell you when the market opened, when it was time to go to church, and when it was time to stop at the end of the day.

VO: Before this clock tower was built, the bells rang out from the local abbey.

But this led to a dispute between the abbey's abbot and the townsfolk.

They were worried that the abbey was taking liberties with the hours.

If you imagine, if you control when the bells ring, that means that you can stretch the working day.

And so, they built the clock tower to be able to say, actually, if we control the clock and we control the bells, we know that the time is right and that we're not having anything stolen from us by the abbey.

So, really, Sarah, it was just people, local people taking back control.

VO: Yeah.

This clock tower and bell gave locals autonomy over market trading times and their working hours.

One of the monks at the abbey, Thomas Walsingham, writes that, at one point, it looked like the rebels were going to try and burn down the abbey building because they were so angry at the different ways in which the abbey tried to control the life of the town.

VO: Now, let's get inside for a nosey.

RAJ: I'm really excited to have a look at this, Sarah.

SARAH: Yeah, we don't open it up very often other than in the summer.

So, you're... RAJ: I feel very honored.

SARAH: ..lucky.

RAJ: I feel very honored.

VO: The walls are around four-feet thick, meaning the building can take the weight of not only the clock, but also the hefty bell.

It's 93 steps to the top, Raj.

RAJ: You didn't tell me that when we were at the bottom, Sarah.

SARAH: No.

RAJ: OK. VO: Good for the old ticker, Raj.

Ha-ha!

See what I did there?

SARAH: OK, Raj, if you just step inside here... RAJ: Yeah?

SARAH: ..you can see Gabriel, SARAH: our bell that has been calling out since the 1400s.

RAJ: Wow.

Wow.

Magnificent.

And why is it called Gabriel?

SARAH: So, Gabriel is an angel.

RAJ: Yeah.

SARAH: So, it says on the bell, "From Heaven I came.

Gabriel is my name."

So, it's ringing out the sound from the heavens.

Gabriel weighs about a ton, so if you imagine them, when they had to get that in originally, it would have been a real challenge, and the floors were built afterwards.

So, they'd have just brought it up through one of the big windows downstairs, and lifted it up into position here.

VO: Gabriel's original framework is now so fragile that the bell is only tapped, rather than swung.

(BELL CHIMES) SARAH: The last time it was actually swung and rung properly was in 1901 for Queen Victoria's funeral.

(BELL CHIMES) VO: Gabriel has also served in another role for the people of St Albans.

We had the battle of St Albans here during the Wars of the Roses, and the bell, Gabriel, would have called out to warn people that the battle was about to happen.

It's amazing to think that this bell has been here, ringing for over 600 years.

I mean, it's not likely to go off any second now, is it, Sarah?

Not right now, but perhaps we should carry on up.

RAJ: I'm behind you.

VO: Hope he makes it up those stairs.

Cor blimey!

SARAH: Welcome to the top of St Albans.

RAJ: Wow!

Wow!

What a view!

SARAH: You can see all the way to London, but, actually, the view is one of the things that caused it to have another use.

During the Napoleonic wars, there was a giant shutter telegraph on top of this tower, so they were trying to communicate between the coasts.

And you could get a message from here to Great Yarmouth, which is about 220 miles away, in 15 minutes, using the shutter telegraphs at a time when, otherwise, you'd have been going at the speed of a horse.

So, that view has been really useful in the life of the clock tower.

RAJ: I mean, the tower actually isn't needed any more.

So, what's its purpose these days?

So, you can still hear that bell.

(BELL CHIMES) RAJ: Yeah.

Wow.

SARAH: And you can still see the clock on the front.

So, it does still exist as one of the few public buildings that tells you the time here.

But also, it's a sign of civic pride.

It's the people of St Albans have protected this tower, and so that's why it's here still, because developers weren't able to pull it down because the people of St Albans supported it.

And so, it's a sign that the town and now city of St Albans, of its independence, and of it as a place that we love.

I mean, Sarah, it's a great story, and thank you so much for telling me about it.

VO: So, as Raj "clocks off" from the city of St Albans, where art thou, Irita?

It's a shame the bed and breakfast sign has to go to auction because it would be so much fun to find where Raj lives and put it outside his house.

Imagine everybody knocking on the door.

VO: Yeah, we'd love to see that.

We're bound for the foot of the Chiltern Hills to the town of Wendover.

We're shopping in a Tudor delight - Antiques At Wendover.

Feast your peepers in here, lads.

This medieval warren has 30 dealers filling eight rooms over two floors.

Now, Irita has just over £270 left, and she's hungry.

That's a good size.

Fits me.

What do you think?

(SHE WHISTLES) VO: Very fetching.

I've got one just like that.

A bit smaller.

This is Japanese ware at its best.

Look at that pierce work.

It is just incredible.

This has been made by a master because it is all hand-done.

For that not to have any fire cracks, it's just mind-blowing.

To me, that is just phenomenal.

It is the nicest thing from Japanese Satsuma ware...

..I think I have ever seen.

VO: She's right.

Japan opened its borders to the West in the Meiji period between 1868 and 1912, when Satsuma pottery became extremely collectable.

And Irita's right to be excited.

And when this was made, it would have cost a fortune.

Well, now, £120.

I love it!

And I'm going to have it.

VO: Yeah.

Great.

RAJ: Irita's got here before me.

Irita.

VO: Yeah, Raj.

I'd have thought your timekeeping would be better after all that chat in a clock tower.

Ha!

RAJ: It's so well displayed.

There's so much choice.

It's going to take me a little while just to go round and just find out exactly what I'm looking for.

VO: Raj has just a smidge under £120.

RAJ: These are a lovely, lovely pair of little child's leather clogs.

And I'm always drawn to clogs.

There's a lot of collectors of clogs, and these are in really, really good condition.

They're 19th-century and, to be honest, they look probably mid-19th-century.

So well-kept, as well.

They're really in good condition.

There's £44 on the price ticket.

I mean, really, I'd want to be getting these for 20, 25.

I think they're sweet.

They're really, really lovely.

VO: Oh, Svetlana.

RAJ: Hi, there.

SVETLANA: Hi.

Hi.

I've found these lovely little children's clogs, and they're in really good condition, but I'm not exactly sure where these are from.

I think they're Lancashire ones, from Lancashire.

Now, you've got £44 on the ticket.

What would be your best price?

SVETLANA: OK, OK, OK, let me think.

Let me think.

44... ..35.

Still a little bit steep for me.

You know, how about if I offered you 25?

OK, let's say 28 and you've got the deal.

At £28, though, we have a deal.

Thank you very much indeed.

VO: Nice work, Raj.

On the other side of the shop, I spy an Irita with dealer Mike.

MIKE: There is a bag of things, just been brought in, which I haven't even looked at, so that's pretty fresh to the market.

Can I have a look, please?

MIKE: As it's you, yes.

There you go.

And I really don't know what's in it.

VO: A mystery goody bag, eh?

Let's see inside, then.

There's something fishy in the bag.

Minton, hand-painted by Dean.

With a giant chip.

These are rather lovely.

Every single bit of this decoration has been hand-painted.

In all my years of dealing, I have never seen a pair of these.

I think I need to go and see what these can be.

And the Satsuma, which I love, love, love, love, love.

I had a rummage in your bag, and I found these.

MIKE: Yes.

IRITA: A pair of Minton plates.

MIKE: Oh.

IRITA: Yeah, one has a giant chip in it, I'm afraid.

So, we're talking fish and chip here, aren't we?

Ha!

Hey, that's a good one.

VO: Less fishy small talk - time to talk money.

The Japanese reticulated box first.

For the Satsuma, it's marked at 120 - 95.

VO: And the pair of Minton plates?

MIKE: Well, because one is damaged and they are a pair, I'll tell you what we'll do, £25 for the pair.

So, 120 for the three pieces.

IRITA: Sounds good to me.

MIKE: Thank you.

Sounds good to me, Mike.

Thank you for getting that bag out.

I really appreciate it.

See you later.

MIKE: Bye.

IRITA: Bye.

VO: Oi!

The plates, Irita.

I do love a BOGOF.

And thank you, Mike.

You're a very kind man.

IRITA: Are you happy?

RAJ: Well, I could be happier.

Who couldn't be?

OK?

You will be happier when you're in the car with me.

(HE LAUGHS) VO: Well, that's it.

The shopping bonanza has concluded.

One of the things that I do every single night before I go to bed is I like to read.

What do you read?

Well, at the moment, I'm reading a book on anti-gravity, and it's really hard to put down.

VO: Boom, boom, Raj!

Sooner you get some shut-eye, the better.

Nighty night.

VO: This is exciting!

Our road trippers are setting up to view their second auction... IRITA: Oh, wow!

Welcome.

I'm home at last.

(SHE LAUGHS) That's what you call an entrance.

VO: ..at Nether Winchendon House.

Since the 16th century, this medieval marvel has remained in the same family.

Our chirpy duo, after a gallop around the South Midlands, are now in Nether Winchendon in Buckinghamshire.

While the big bag of shopping goodies have been sent off to Tring to Tring Market Auctions.

For sale in the room, on the phone and the World Wide Web.

The man in command of the rostrum is Stephen Hearn.

STEPHEN: Thank you.

VO: Irita bought five lots for the sum of £200.

What do you think, Stephen?

Ah, the bed and breakfast.

What fun that is.

You think of bucket and spades, don't you, when you look at that bed and breakfast sign?

Be great to have outside someone's home when they're not expecting it.

VO: Naughty, Stephen.

Ha!

Five lots for Raj, too, for the sum of £146.

What's your favorite, Stephen?

In my opinion, the child's clogs are probably one of the better examples you have of antique value.

They are in good original condition.

You often find them when they've been re-stitched, but in this instance, no.

(GAVEL BANGS) VO: Back to the medieval manor to watch the sale via tablets.

Super high-tech, eh?

Ready for the first item?

IRITA: Born ready.

RAJ: OK, here we go.

VO: Raj is first up with the stylish 1950s set of dress buttons.

RAJ: These are Guinness buttons.

IRITA: Mm.

RAJ: I mean, you do see them in a lot of places, but there are a lot of people who collect Guinness, and I love them.

Got £40 for them?

RAJ: Come on.

STEPHEN: £40?

30, 20?

STEPHEN: Yes, 20 I'm bid.

IRITA: Oh, no, it's going the wrong way!

STEPHEN: £20, and two I have.

Well, at least you got a bid.

30 I have.

And two now.

IRITA: A profit.

RAJ: Come on.

STEPHEN: At £30, then, to lose it if there's no further bid.

They're going down.

I'm selling... ..at £30, then, thank you.

A small profit.

My goodness.

That was tight.

VO: One lucky bidder has nabbed a bargain.

IRITA: I'm not bothered about watching the auctioneer.

I just want to watch your reaction.

"Please!

One more!"

VO: Irita's turn now, with a large bed and breakfast sign.

"Willie" or won't he?

RAJ: OK, well, let's see if anyone's staying for bed and breakfast, shall we?

It's fully booked.

Anybody got £50 for it?

£50, 30?

At 20, I'm bid.

28 I've got.

30 now.

At 28, and 30 is in.

RAJ: Come on.

STEPHEN: At 28 - is that all?

STEPHEN: If there's no further bid... Come on, we want another one.

Oh, what?

We do want another one.

He's going down then.

I'm selling.

Bed and breakfast for £30.

Thank you very much.

What can I say?

It's £10 in the pocket.

VO: Absolutely.

And he'll raise loads of smiles.

RAJ: The auctioneer looked like he was more used to hotels than bed and breakfasts.

VO: It's the 19th-century children's clogs next from Raj.

RAJ: Do you know, I don't know what it is about clogs and me.

IRITA: Neither do I. RAJ: You know, but I have got a thing about clogs.

IRITA: You really have.

RAJ: I do.

What about £40 for them?

Anyone got 30?

20 we're bid.

IRITA: Oh, he's going down again.

STEPHEN: £20 we're bid for the clogs.

And two, anyone?

At £20 and £2, and five and eight and 30 now.

Go on, one more, and then you break even.

RAJ: Come on.

More than that.

IRITA: Oh, no.

No more?

No more than 28 then.

RAJ: No!

STEPHEN: Going down.

I shall sell.

RAJ: No, no, no.

IRITA: Come on!

STEPHEN: For £28.

Yes.

Thank you.

Not a penny profit.

Yeah, but at least you didn't lose any.

VO: Shame.

Lovely little item.

RAJ: If that's my expectations, I'm never going to catch up, am I?

VO: Keep the faith, Raj.

Now, it's Irita's wooden powder flask.

This is an unusual thing.

What do you expect it to make?

50, 60, 70 quid.

There or there about.

Who's got £40 for it?

£40?

40 I'm bid, and two now.

He's away.

It's away.

STEPHEN: At £40.

And two anywhere?

IRITA: Come on, reel them in.

Reel them in.

At 45 now.

45, and eight now.

Eight...

It's going to make the 50 at least.

IRITA: Do a five.

STEPHEN: Going down for the £50?

Yes.

Thank you.

Well, you were spot-on, though.

IRITA: Yeah.

RAJ: Well done.

VO: Well done indeed.

Irita's slowly nudging further into the lead.

RAJ: And it made a profit.

IRITA: It did.

Well, excellent.

VO: The art deco silver trinket box is next to tempt the bidders.

I love this.

I love the color, the shape - everything about it.

There you are.

There's a nice one.

How close to £100 for this silver box?

Go on, go in 100.

60?

100!

There it goes.

Oh!

Jumping.

20 and 30 and 40.

And 50 now.

50 I have.

160.

80 now.

Oh, my God!

£170, 80 I'm bid, and 90 now.

190.

Is it going to be the 200?

220 I have now.

220!?

STEPHEN: At £220, and 250 I'm bid.

250?

250.

You're going to lose it.

Don't lose it.

You don't want to lose it.

At 280, 300 I'm bid.

£300!

IRITA: £300?!

RAJ: Oh!

380.

Thank you.

RAJ: Oh!

STEPHEN: 400, do I hear?

RAJ: I feel a tear coming down my face.

400!

Now, and 20, is it?

At four... No, I'm not.

We move to for 420.

At 420, and 50, is it?

What on Earth is going on?

STEPHEN: And 50 anywhere?

£420 then.

Thank you very much.

RAJ: Whoa!

IRITA: That is... IRITA: I am gobsmacked at that.

RAJ: Fantastic.

RAJ: What a return.

IRITA: Well done.

VO: Shocked.

Delighted.

There's no doubting Raj has now stolen the lead.

IRITA: Is that, like, the world's most expensive silver box I've ever seen?

RAJ: Bring it on.

Bring it on.

IRITA: Playing it cool.

That means I am trailing way behind.

It's not over.

It's a long way to go.

VO: Never fear, Irita.

Your large continental majolica jug is next.

Anybody got £40 for it?

STEPHEN: £40, £30?

IRITA: Go on, give me 40 quid.

STEPHEN: £20 for it?

Anybody there for 10?

Yes, 10.

There you go.

RAJ: Come on, let's go.

At 12, it's bid.

15 now.

RAJ: Come on, more.

Should I start crying now?

Come on, keep it going.

He's gaining.

20, we got.

The 20, and two.

RAJ: It's moving.

STEPHEN: Very decorative.

Reel them in.

Get those fish.

At 25, then.

Sold and done, then, at the £25.

Thank you.

VO: On the positive side, someone has snapped up a bargain.

It's your first loss this road trip, isn't it?

Right, right, let's move on.

Let's not dwell.

Let's not dwell.

VO: Precisely.

The poker-work page turner from Raj now.

Do you like a good bookmark?

I read a lot, so having a good bookmark... £20 for it, £10 for it, bid.

Tenner I'm bid.

12 now.

Oh, straight in the profit, Raj.

Well done.

Got a small profit so far.

At £15, then.

18, is it?

Come on, a little bit more.

You have it, sir, for £15.

Thank you.

VO: All is well for leader Raj.

IRITA: Still a profit.

RAJ: Yeah.

You've nearly doubled your money.

Irita's beloved Japanese Satsuma box is up for grabs next.

IRITA: In the right hands, that Satsuma could do really, really well.

They are so rare and so hard to find.

And the quality of the painting?

IRITA: Oh, my God.

RAJ: Really good?

IRITA: Exquisite.

£30, 60, 70, 80.

Bang!

110 I'm bid for it.

IRITA: Bang!

RAJ: Bang.

(HE CHUCKLES) RAJ: Come on!

110, 120 I'm bid.

120, 130 I'm bid.

130 and 40 and 50 and £60... RAJ: Hey, hey!

IRITA: We're on a roll.

And 200 now, and 10... Well done.

At £200... VO: Finally, a big, weighty profit for Irita.

RAJ: You should be very pleased with that.

I'd be over the moon.

VO: Onwards, with Raj's early-20th-century kaleidoscope.

But I played with one of these when I was a child.

IRITA: Aw!

RAJ: Did you never have a kaleidoscope when you were a kid?

No?

I remember making one when I was about eight.

It's going to give someone a happy memory.

There we are.

One for the children.

What about that one?

£30 for it?

£20?

STEPHEN: 22, five... IRITA: Oh, he's going.

STEPHEN: 30, thank you.

IRITA: Oh!

Five now.

On fire, Raj!

STEPHEN: At 35, and eight?

38.

And 40 I'm bid.

What?

My eyes are going round and round and round like a kaleidoscope.

£40.

Thank you.

That's an amazing price.

Yeah.

It hits people's hearts.

Yeah.

You know, I think, and those kind of things do.

VO: Nostalgia sells.

Another little earner, Raj.

IRITA: It's again the recycling.

RAJ: Yep.

IRITA: The antiques are green, you know?

RAJ: They sell.

Generation after generation can use it.

VO: Irita's goody-bag find is the final lot of today - the pair of Minton plates.

I think they look a bit fishy to me.

There's nothing fishy about them.

Hang on a minute.

All I can see is fish on them.

Tell me, is this the photo, or is there a big chip on one of them?

Just one.

Shall we say £40 for them?

Oh, straight in at what I thought.

£20 for them?

At £20 for them now.

Oh, dear.

Have we got to start at 10, then?

Anyone there for the £10 for them?

No, not even £10.

No?

Oh, my God.

No way.

Anyone got the £10?

No, we don't.

I'll put my hand up.

On we go, then.

We'll have to move on.

No bid on them.

Thank you.

I have never had a no sale!

There's a lot of things you haven't happen happened today.

VO: Oh, dear.

Those plates will have to go to the next auction.

What is going on?

Irita Marriott had a no sale on porcelain.

That was an auction and a half.

It was, wasn't it?

IRITA: A lot of firsts.

RAJ: Ups and downs.

RAJ: That was like being on a roller-coaster.

I hate roller-coasters.

VO: Me, too.

Irita began with £352 and 60 pennies, and made, after costs, and despite not selling her plates, a small profit of just over £50, giving her £402.70.

(GAVEL BANGS) While Raj started with £236.30.

And after all costs, he has rocketed to £527.36.

And he's today's auction champ.

So, whose turn is it to buy dinner?

Yours.

RAJ: I...

I'll happily do so.

IRITA: No doubt about it.

RAJ: Let's go.

IRITA: Right, IRITA: I am having a pudding, a main... RAJ: To be honest, I'd like to see you have fish with one chip.

(THEY LAUGH) subtitling@stv.tv